Discharger for centrifugal machines



Oct. 4, 1949. 1 P. VAN RIEL ,5

DISCHARGER FOR CENTR IFUGAL MACHINES Filed Nov. 21, 1945 [nueni'ar Afar-ways I Patented Oct. 4, 1949 DISCHARGER FOR CENTRIFUGAL MACHINES Pieter van Riel, Delft, Netherlands, assignor to Machinefabriek Reineveld N. V., Delft, Nether-' lands, a company of the Netherlands Application November 21, 1945, Serial No. 630,079 In the Netherlands November 10, 1942 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires November 10, 1962 1 Claim. (01. 21o 70) This invention relates to a centrifugal machine of the known type comprising a cuttin blade or plough for removing the accumulation of solid material from the wall of the basket, and a skimming device fordischarging liquid therefrom, said device being adapted to be moved, towards and away from said wall.

The object of the invention is the provision of means whereby, in a centrifugal machine of the above known type, a layer of liquid can be discharged from the basket in a short time. With this object in view, the invention consists herein that the skimming device is adjustably secured to the blade supporting member in such a manner that its mouth can be set selectively at a smaller or at a greater distance from the wall of the basket than the cutting edge of the blade.

The annexed drawing illustrates, by way of example only, part of a horizontal centrifugal basket and of a discharger provided therein according to the invention, Fig. 1 being a longitudinal sectional view, and Fig. 2 a cross sectional view thereof, along the line II--II in Fi 1.

In the drawing, 3 designates the basket or drum and 4 the blade supporting member, which is adapted to be rectilinearly moved towards and away from the wall of the basket by a vertical rod ta secured to said member, guided by a sleeve ib integral with a stationary frame part 18 and adapted for reciprocating movement. Secured to said supporting member are the holder of the blade 5 and two axially spaced brackets 6 providing bearings for rollers I rotatably mounted on aligned horizontal trunnions la.

The skimming pipe, indicated by 8, has an axially elongated mouth 9. A straight, vertical portion of said pipe is freely encircled by a sleeve l provided with two sections of left-handed diametrically opposed helical grooves ll, Ha. By means of two rings l2 clamped on the pipe 8 said sleeve is locked intermediate the two rollers I in such a manner that the latter engage the grooves ll. Pipe 8 is prevented from rotation about the axis of sleeve In by a vertical pin 13 secured to the blade supporting member 4 and engaging an eye M secured to the pipe. Also secured to the blade supporting member 3 is a clamping ring which consists of a split, circular spring ring secured to member 4, the free ends of said ring being bent outward to form substantially parallel lugs [5a, l5b, adapted to be moved towards and away from one anr 2 other by means of a screw Ilia provided with a handle 15. This screw is in threaded engage- 'ment with lug I51), itshead engaging the other lug [5a, in which the screw Ilia is freely rotatable. Thus, obviously, the operator can, by means of handle l6, release or look pipe 8.

From the above description'it follows that sleeve i0,,when the same is turned by the operator by means of a handle I! secured thereto and clamping ring l5 disengages pipe 8, is raised or lowered by the cooperation of rollers 7 with grooves i l, and that pipe 8 is constrained to follow this movement. When said pipe has reached the desired level, it can be locked by means of ring [5.

The arrangement is designed so as to allow the mouth 9 of pipe 8 to be locked in a position at a distance from the wall of the basket selectively appreciably greater or smaller than that of blade 5. If the mouth 9 of the pipe 8 is locked in a position ahead of blade 5, i. e. at a distance from the basket wall smaller than that of the blade, it will be appreciated that manual or mechanical movement of member 4 in upward direction will have the effect that the mouth 9 will skim off the layer of liquid-floating on the layer of solid material accumulated on the inner wall of the basket, the blade 5 remaining idle. As soon as the liquid layer has thus been removed, the mouth 9 is manually retracted and locked, so that on further outward movement of member 4 the blade 5 will engage the solid layer, while mouth 9 remains out of contact with said layer.

My novel machine may be operated as follows.

During the treatment of a charge, and while the machine is running at full speed, the skimming pipe 8 is set into a position ahead of the blade 5. When the solid material in the charge has accumulated on the wall of the basket, the mechanism for feeding the blade supporting member 4 is out in, whereby the mouth 9 of pipe 8 will engage the surface of the liquid layer earlier than the blade. Thus, the feeding movement of said supporting member will result in the discharge of the liquid layer. The moment wherein the mouth of pipe 8 has nearly reached the solid layer, the blade 5 is set ahead of the pipe, so that during further outward movement of member 4 the solid layer is scraped from the straining wall and discharged from the gyrating basket.

If the material to be treated is fed into the basket in such a manner as to be first spread over the bottom and thereafter over the wall thereof, then, irrespective of whether the axis of the machine is horizontal or vertical, the thickness of the solid layer accumulated on said wall will decrease, and that of the liquid layer will increase from the bottom towards the edge of the drum. I therefore prefer to mount the skimming pipe remote from the bottom so that it skims off the layer of liquid where the thickness thereof has its maximum value, for under these conditions the greater part of the charge will already be perfectly dry the moment wherein the skimming pipe has nearly reached the solid layer.

What I claim is:

In a centrifugal machine including a basket having a circumferential wall, a cutting blade mounted inside the basket for rotation relatively to the wall, a movable member supporting the blade for adjustable positioning thereof toward and away from the wall, a skimming device mounted for rotation with the blade and in advance thereof comprising a pipe arranged V substantially transversely of the basket and hav- '4 member, and locking means, including a clamp integral with the device and surrounding the member, whereby the device may be locked in adjusted position.

PIETER VAN RIEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

